Yeah? I know of Doctors and other NZ 'Professionals' who refuse to return to New Zealand so they DON'T have to pay their student loans back, hardly a level playing field
Ahh to pay it back or not. 100k would increase very fast with the monthly penalties and interest. These people might not be returning to work, but I'm sure they have family in NZ, what happens when there go back to see them. I know you can't get arrested for bad debt but in sure they could refuse you departure from NZ.
What happens if 10-20 years from now someone turns up on your door in Australia to tell you your house now belongs to the NZ Government. There has always been talk of an agreement between NZ and AU regarding student loans. A child support reciprocal agreement between Australia and New Zealand came into force on 1 July 2000. I wouldnt be able to sleep at night if I were these people.